The Sound of Silence
by Arazora
Summary: Sequel to One Stormy and Rainy Day. Gokudera is asked by his neighbors to dog-sit for a week. Yamamoto decides to help. 8059, mild yaoi. Don't like, don't read. Rated T for Gokudera's mouth. ON HIATUS UNTIL I GET RID OF THIS STORY'S WRITER'S BLOCK!
1. Day I

**A/N: 8059. Don't like, don't read. Oh, and this takes place about three days after One Stormy and Rainy Day took place.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own KHR.**

**Summary: Sequel (kind of) to One Stormy and Rainy Day. Gokudera is asked by his neighbors to dog-sit for a week. Yamamoto decides to help.**

----------x----------

**The Sound of Silence**

Three days had passed since that fateful, stormy day. Gokudera Hayato was seated in the living room of his apartment, crushing a cigarette into the dish on the coffee table, still unable to stop thinking about it. He hadn't gone to school for the last few days, because he couldn't bring up the nerve to face _him _again. Not after what he had said.

Suddenly, his doorbell rang. Gokudera looked over at the door, a rather blank expression on his face. With a sigh, he tossed the butt of his cigarette into the dish and shuffled over. Before he opened the door though, he quickly glanced at his reflection, trying to make himself presentable. His hair was messed up, for he hadn't bothered to brush it for quite a while and there were dark bags under his eyes. The shirt he wore was too big for him and the black sweatpants he had on the lower half of his body had a hole in the knee.

He ran a hand through his hair as the doorbell rang again. He exhaled sharply before opening the door.

It was his neighbors. They were a young couple living in the apartment across the hall from him and they now stood in his doorway, smiling awkwardly. The man, a slender, fellow with raven black hair and slim features, spoke first. His wife, a petite female with light brown hair, clung to his arm. Gokudera noticed, with amusement, that she was shaking.

"G-Gokudera-kun," the man began.

Gokudera tried to remember his name. Could it have been Taro? No, that was the name of his dog. He lost his train of thought. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. So, with that, Gokudera just settled for a simple, "Hmm?"

"We're going on vacation for a week," the man said quickly, bowing swiftly. "And Hana and I were wondering if you could take care of our dog. You see, Taro is afraid of planes and so we can't take him with us. We'll even pay you."

Gokudera sighed. "Did you ask any of the other neighbors?"

The man nodded. "But they've all declined. So you're our last hope, Gokudera-kun. Please, please, please help us!" he bowed again. Hana bowed as well.

"Fine," Gokudera said.

"Thank you so much!" the man replied, elated. "If you have some free time, perhaps we can show the ropes now?"

Gokudera ran a hand through his hair then shrugged. "Eh, why not…" he muttered before following the happy couple across the hall into their apartment. The minute he stepped into the room, he was nearly knocked over by a Shiba Inu.

"Taro! Down!" Daisuke shouted, grabbing the collar of the ginger-colored dog. Taro's curly tail wagged furiously as he strained to lick Gokudera's face. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to deal with this every time you come in," Daisuke apologized, bowing again.

Hana had disappeared into the apartment and she now reappeared with a rubber bone. She threw it into the main living room and Taro jumped after it, chasing it down and beginning to gnaw it.

The couple showed Gokudera the water, the food and everything else needed to take care of the dog. "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning," Daisuke said as he handed Gokudera a copy of their apartment key. "So if you could just drop by before and after school to walk Taro and then just feed him twice, I think you'll be fine for the week. Do you want us to pay you now or would you rather us pay you later?"

Gokudera shrugged. "Do what you think is best," he said quietly, looking down at Taro. The dog rolled over, revealing his white stomach. Gokudera managed to smile, just a little bit, as he crouched down, rubbing the dog's belly. Taro's left hind leg began to thump against the wooden floor furiously as his tail swept across the floor. He began to whine when Gokudera withdrew his hand.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Taro," Gokudera said, rubbing the side of the dog's head.

Hana laughed as Gokudera bid the couple good-bye and returned to his own apartment.

"What have I gotten myself into now?" Gokudera groaned as he flopped back down on his couch, pulling another cigarette from the box on the coffee table.

----------x----------

The sun seared through the slits in the blinds on the window of Gokudera's room. The silver haired teenager sat up in his bed. He had spent the entire night tossing and turning, the Yakyu-baka's words still ringing in his head.

_I love you…_

_I love you…_

_I love you…_

Gokudera got up, grabbing his school uniform from his closet. Today was the day he was going back to school, he decided. It was time to face the Yakyu-baka and determine whether or not what he had said was actually true.

Then, he remembered he had to walk Taro.

"_Cazzo!_" **(A/N: I'll leave this up to my readers to try and figure out what it means. =) I'm pretty sure you'll have an easy time though. I mean, seriously, it's Gokudera…)**

Gokudera had slipped into his natural Italian in his hurry to get to the energetic Shiba Inu before the dog destroyed Hana and Daisuke's apartment.

He swiftly unlocked the door and was then eagerly greeted by the ginger dog. Taro jumped up, placing his paws against Gokudera's chest as he licked the teenager in greeting.

"Yo Taro, ready for a walk?" Gokudera grinned, reaching over to the coat hook on the side of the wall and grabbing the leash. Taro went crazy when he heard the word "Walk" and when he saw the leash. Gokudera had a hard time attaching it to Taro's collar but by the time he managed the task, he realized there was no time to take the dog on a walk long enough to tire him out and make sure Hana and Daisuke's apartment was safe.

He hated asking anyone for a favor, but he knew he had to do it. Someone had to take care of Taro until he returned from school. This meant he had two people to ask: Juudaime and Yakyu-baka.

He raced down the street, the dog easily keeping up with him. As he turned a corner, he saw the retreating figure of a tall, raven-haired male, a baseball bat slung over one shoulder. Taro tugged the leash from Gokudera's hands and tackled Yamamoto Takeshi in the back.

Yamamoto didn't fall, but merely stumbled as Gokudera caught up with the dog, scooping up the handle of the leash. Taro was wagging his tail, jumping up and down, trying to reach Yamamoto's face.

"Oh, it's Gokudera," Yamamoto grinned. "Where have you been these last few days?"

Gokudera rolled his eyes. He didn't want to explain himself to this guy, to the guy that had been the cause of his absence. "I have to take care of my neighbors' dog. But I didn't have time to walk him this morning." He said, avoiding the question Yamamoto had asked him.

"You can leave him here," Yamamoto said. "Oyaji is inside and he'll probably be willing to take care of the dog. What's his name?" Yamamoto knelt down, scratching Taro's head. The dog licked Yamamoto's fingers.

"Taro," Gokudera replied curtly.

"OI! OYAJI!" Yamamoto shouted.

His dad appeared in the doorway of Takesushi. "What is it?" he asked. Then he saw the dog.

"Can you take care of the dog for today?" Yamamoto asked. "It's just until school gets out."

"Don't see why not," Yamamoto's father said. Gokudera handed him Taro's leash.

"His name is Taro," Yamamoto added.

"Taro, that's a good name," Yamamoto's father boomed out his loud laugh as he and Taro returned to the shop.

"Now let's go to school," Gokudera growled.

Yamamoto laughed, slinging an arm around Gokudera's shoulder. The bomber didn't seem too bothered by it. They picked up Tsuna along the way to school, who expressed extreme concern for Gokudera's absence. Gokudera managed to put up a cheerful façade for his precious Juudaime, and Tsuna failed to notice it.

But Yamamoto did.

The baseball player just didn't say anything. He'd talk to Gokudera later.

School passed by, the same mundane events happened, Gokudera discovered he hadn't actually missed that much but his mind still kept replaying that event in his head. He could still see it the dusty, gray room, the feel of Yamamoto's breath on his ear, taste the dust in the air, could still feel the way his throat tightened, like he was going to cry…

"Gokudera! GOKUDERA!"

Fuck. He had spaced out again.

"What?" he growled.

"Solve the problem on the board." His math teacher was glaring daggers at him.

Gokudera looked at the problem on the board and sighed. Such an easy equation. He got up from his desk and walked over to the board, picking up a piece of chalk as he went. He quickly wrote down the answer, momentarily satisfied with the angry growl that his teacher emitted when he realized that Gokudera had solved the problem correctly.

The girls in the back of the room were all murmuring in awe as he walked back to his seat. Gokudera didn't bother to acknowledge them but his eyes still scanned the room. Yamamoto had his head tilted to the side as he tried to figure out now Gokudera had reached his conclusion.

Gokudera sighed. Perhaps he really should begin tutoring the Yakyu-baka. _If he wants to be my...boyfriend…_Gokudera cringed at the thought of the word, but he had to admit, it did please him just a little bit. _Then he has to at least ace his next test._

When school finally got out, Tsuna accompanied Gokudera and Yamamoto to fetch Taro from Takesushi. They found the dog chained to a pole outside, barking at passing cars and people.

Gokudera quickly untied the dog, glaring at Yamamoto. "Why is Taro chained up?" he growled. Yamamoto shrugged.

"I'll go talk to Oyaji," he said with a sigh then disappeared into the sushi restaurant. Gokudera didn't feel like waiting so he just started walking towards his apartment building.

Yamamoto chased after him, falling into step with the silver haired teenager. "Taro was making a mess in the restaurant," he explained. "So Oyaji had to tie him outside."

Gokudera just nodded.

"By the way, can you help me study for the math test tomorrow?" Yamamoto grinned, slinging an arm around Gokudera's shoulders.

"Why don't you just stay the night at my place?" Gokudera couldn't believe he was saying this. Perhaps he really was going crazy.

But then again, love could make you do crazy things.

"You know, so we can get more studying done," Gokudera quickly added.

Yamamoto laughed, but his expression told Gokudera that he knew there was something else Gokudera wanted to do that wasn't exactly…studying.

Tsuna looked between the two of them and suddenly it dawned on him. "HIIIIIIIIIIIIII??????"

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**Tell me what you think! If I get enough reviews, I'll continue! If I don't, I might just continue anyway, lol.**

**Ja ne!**

**~ Arazora**


	2. Day II

**I want to take some time to show some appreciation to my readers and reviewers! You've given me hope and have made me excited to write this story!! Thanks to ExplosiveDevice, reishilovesyaoi, xFlame990, OneEighty, mistdays, xXShadowFriendXx and Bel's Hime-Sama for reviewing and giving me the resolve to continue the story! I'll write with my Dying Will!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own KHR. I own only this plot, so keep yer paws off, a'right? *has Sistema C.A.I. ready***

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**Day II**

Gokudera couldn't sleep. He lay with his head on the pillow, his eyes scanning the room he knew so well. The moon slanted through the window at just the right angle to illuminate Yamamoto's sleeping face. It was about one in the morning and Gokudera just couldn't fall into the deep abyss known as sleep.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he muttered to himself, rolling over so that he was looking up at the ceiling.

He crossed his arms behind his head, feeling restless. Sleep just wasn't coming to him.

They had spent a total of five hours doing their homework. With Gokudera's help, Yamamoto didn't lose his focus as much as he would have with Tsuna, so it probably went faster than it would have had Yamamoto been by himself.

Gokudera realized now that Yamamoto actually had the potential to get grades in the A-range, but he seemed to have ADHD or something. Yamamoto was quite easily distracted, first by the potted plant that stood in the corner of Gokudera's living room, then by the view his balcony provided, then by the strange Italian food in Gokudera's fridge. The list was almost endless.

Then there was the problem of Taro.

Because Gokudera didn't trust the dog by himself in Hana and Daisuke's apartment, he had decided to keep the dog with him, in his own apartment.

Taro slept in the living room, in his dog bed, his rubber bone tucked under his paw. Or at least, that's where he was supposed to sleep.

A whining outside Gokudera's room made the silver haired teenager sigh softly before getting up and padding over to the door. He opened it, looking down. Taro was sitting in the doorway, his bone held in his jaw, his liquid brown eyes looking up at Gokudera. The bomber placed a hand on the dog's head and the dog leaned against Gokudera's leg, still whining softly, his entire body shaking.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Gokudera whispered, being careful as to not wake the sleeping baseball player three feet away from him.

Taro whimpered again, dropping the bone and licking Gokudera's fingers. "Or maybe you just want to use the bathroom," Gokudera mused as he stifled a yawn. Taro still didn't respond in any comprehendable way.

"Nn…Gokudera?" Yamamoto's sleepy voice came out from the darkness.

"Go back to sleep, Yakyu-baka," Gokudera growled.

Yamamoto laughed softly. "Not a morning person, are we, Gokudera?" he whispered, his voice still soft, reaching out to grasp Gokudera's hand. Gokudera stiffened. Taro walked past Gokudera and jumped up onto the silver haired boy's bed, which made Gokudera roll his eyes. He would have to clean the sheets later.

"What do you want?" Gokudera snapped, not bothering to remove his wrist from Yamamoto's grasp. He knew it was to be a futile attempt.

Yamamoto appeared to still be in the grasps of temptress known as Sleep as he sat up, grasping Gokudera's shoulders. Yamamoto's eyes were bleary and his movements slow and sluggish. Gokudera didn't resist when Yamamoto brought him close, blowing away any distance between the two of them with a single kiss.

It wasn't really anything special, just a simple kiss.

But for Gokudera, it seemed to be the end of his old world and the beginning of his new one. He looked at Yamamoto oddly, his expression unreadable. Taro had fallen asleep on the bed, his soft snores adding to the heavy night air.

Yamamoto wrapped his arms around Gokudera's waist, pulling him onto his lap.

He gave the bomber a quick peck on the cheek, whispering some words in his ear. "I love you, Gokudera," he whispered, swaying back and forth as if he were drunk.

Gokudera didn't struggle. He just lay his head on Yamamoto's chest, staring out the window. _Please don't let him remember any of this in the morning..._Those were Gokudera's last thoughts before he drifted off to sleep.

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Gokudera's alarm clock went off at precisely six-thirty in the morning. He woke up to the swift, annoying beeping of the machine and the first thing he saw was Yamamoto's face, extremely close to his own. So close that he could feel the baseball player's warm breath on his face. _He smells nice, _Gokudera realized absent-mindedly. The alarm clock was still going. Taro was still sound asleep on Gokudera's bed.

"So it wasn't a dream," the almost-all Italian boy muttered as he extracted himself from Yamamoto. He was oddly relieved to see that he still had his clothes on as he turned off the alarm clock. He looked down at Yamamoto, sighing softly. Finally, as the digits on the clock transformed from six forty-four to six forty-five, he kicked Yamamoto awake.

"Wake up," he growled, returning to his usual prickly, impatient self.

It was Taro who responded to these words, not Yamamoto, who remained asleep. The dog stretched and barked, before jumping down from Gokudera's bed. His nails scratched against the wooden floor as the dog made his way to the sleeping teenager. Taro began to furiously lick Yamamoto's face.

Yamamoto groaned before starting to wake up. Gokudera bit his thumb nail impatiently as he aimed another kick at the form on his bedroom floor.

When he was sure Yamamoto was actually awake and functioning, he walked, barefoot, out into his kitchen, shivering slightly in the drafty air. His apartment had never actually had the best insulation. He quickly placed two pieces of bread in the toaster and laced on his shoes. He whistled for Taro and took the dog for a quick walk. Never again would he neglect the Shiba Inu.

Once Taro seemed tired enough to remain placid for the rest of the day until Gokudera got back from school, the bomber buttered up those two slices of toast and had one for breakfast. He fed Taro before looking around. Yamamoto still had not appeared and it was seven thirty by now.

"Oi, don't you have baseball practice?" Gokudera called out.

He heard several bangs and a crash as Yamamoto ran out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel around his waist. "Gokudera, I can't find my clothes!" Yamamoto said.

Gokudera rubbed his temples, muttering curses at the baseball idiot under his breath as he walked into his bathroom. He was immediately assaulted by a wall of hot air and water residue. He looked at the mirror, seeing a foggy outline of his own reflection. He quickly drew a smiley face on the mirror before retrieving Yamamoto's clothes from the place next to the toilet and the cabinet. He walked out into his living room, stopping in his tracks when he saw that Yamamoto had shed his towel.

"…"

Yamamoto turned around, grinning broadly. "Gokudera found them!" he said cheerfully, walking over.

Gokudera shielded his eyes. "Put some clothes on, bastard," he growled.

Yamamoto looked down at himself, seeming to realize then that he was naked.

"Oops," he chuckled as he pulled on his clothes.

Gokudera exhaled sharply before handing Yamamoto the other piece of buttered toast. "Eat this and get off to practice," he growled. _God, he's just like a little kid, _he thought.

Yamamoto laughed. "I'll give Kaa-san a good-bye kiss if she makes me lunch," Yamamoto joked. Gokudera pushed him out of the door, an anger mark appearing on his head.

"Leave. Now." He snarled.

Yamamoto turned around, pecking Gokudera on the cheek anyway before disappearing down the hallway, the toast in his mouth, his backpack and his bat slung over his shoulders.

Taro was on Gokudera's couch now, one paw dangling over the edge of the sofa. Gokudera turned on the television, one hand petting Taro as he watched the morning news.

When the clock above the television signaled that it was time for Gokudera to leave, he glanced down at Taro. The dog was still on the sofa, although he had gone to sleep now. Gokudera half-smiled before turning off the TV and grabbing his backpack. It was only then that he realized Yamamoto had left all of his homework out on his coffee table.

With a groan, Gokudera stacked the papers together and placed them in his backpack, to bring to school with his own homework.

As he walked, he watched his breath rise above his head, disappearing in the weak morning sun. A breeze blew around him and he felt one cool raindrop hit him on the forehead. He looked down at the Vongola Ring that glinted off the middle finger of his right hand, next to several other rings that adorned the other digits that belonged to him.

Once again, as he had had that fateful stormy and rainy day, he had an out of body experience. It suddenly seemed as if the hand he was looking at didn't belong to him anymore. He closed his eyes, standing in the middle of the street, trying to calm his racing thoughts.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, he broke into a run. His feet followed the familiar path to Namimori Middle School. His eyes seemed to be blurring, his vision slipping away from him as he ran.

"Gokudera-kun?"

He knew that voice.

Whose voice was that?

"Juudaime!" he greeted his boss as cheerfully as he could manage. His mind seemed so far away, as if he were actually watching the scene instead of participating.

"Gokudera-kun, you don't look very good…" Tsuna seemed worried, his large eyes looking at Gokudera.

"I'm perfectly fine, Juudaime!" Gokudera replied, flashing his boss a big smile.

Tsuna still looked doubtful, but luckily, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, Tsuna changed the subject. "Last night's math homework was hard, wasn't it?" he said. He seemed to be acting different, more…formal.

"Juudaime…" Gokudera's voice was soft when he realized what it was that had changed their relationship. "I'm still me, your right-hand man," he said, placing a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "My loyalty belongs to you first. Everything else comes second." Two first years passed them, giggling when they saw Gokudera's hand on Tsuna's shoulder.

They were immediately sent packing when Gokudera glared at them, his hand inching towards his dynamite stash.

"G-Gokudera-kun…" Tsuna stammered.

"Nothing has changed, Juudaime," Gokudera continued as if there hadn't been an interruption in the first place.

"I-I never said it had," Tsuna tried to stop the outburst he knew was coming.

"Juudaime, will you let me finish?"

Tsuna blinked. This was…not quite what he had been expecting.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Juudaime," Gokudera said swiftly, berating himself inside. How could he have snapped out like that to his boss? "But let this be known. If you were to order me to kill him, I would do so without thinking twice about it. Because my loyalty belongs to the Vongola Family and the Family comes before anything else," Gokudera's face was pained.

Tsuna was at a loss for words.

"Yo, Tsuna!"

Suddenly, Yamamoto showed up, a bright smile on his face. Gokudera looked at him, glaring at him when he threw an arm around Tsuna's shoulder.

"Stop being so clingy with the Juudaime!" he snapped, brandishing six sticks of dynamite.

Yamamoto chuckled. "Maa, maa, Gokudera," he grinned.

Gokudera began to spew random crap about Yamamoto, asking him why he always acted as if he were so close to the Juudaime, and telling him he was an idiot and all the other stuff he always told Yamamoto when the baseball player got "too friendly" with Tsuna. Yamamoto laughed, taking it the way he always did. Everything Gokudera said just seemed to roll off Yamamoto's back.

Tsuna was looking at Gokudera oddly though. Something about the bomber had changed, yet he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Out of the blue, an orange streak plowed into Gokudera.

"Taro?" Gokudera blinked in astonishment. He had locked the apartment door! There was no way the dog could've gotten out!

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**Haha! Taro escaped! Although exactly how, I don't know. XP**

**So…yeah. If you liked this chapter, review.**

**If you didn't, review and please inform me (POLITELY!!!!) of why you found it unsatisfactory.**

**Next chapter will be out in a week. ;)**

**Ja ne!**

**~Arazora**


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